Love Fangs
by MysticaWarrior
Summary: The Return of Love Fangs! Revised, and a different plot, but the same ol' OC. Caution: Possibility for OOC, so don't flame me for it. Sasaki Eri is new at Cross Academy, and is unluckily reunited with a group she'd been attempting to avoid for many years.
1. New Student

Love Fangs

Chapter 1: New Student

Everything was so large, and so regal, that I felt a strange sense of unpleasant familiarity; though, as usual, I tried as hard as I possibly could to disregard it. Cross Academy stood taller than I'd ever imagined, and the mush of people I could hear talking added to it's appearance of a school for the wealthy, something I hadn't been for a long time. Back in my 'hometown' of Kyoto, I got into this place the old fashioned way, studying until my eyes were about ready to fall out and disintegrate into nothing, and it paid off, and I passed. Just barely, but passed nonetheless. My friends begged for me to stay, but somehow, this move felt right.

"Eri-san! M – Miss Sasaki Eri-san, please wait!" I turned to see a short girl sporting a short brown hair style running towards me, waving her arms to further enhance my awareness of her presence. _The welcoming committee_, I thought sarcastically.

"Hello, you must be Yuki-san, correct?" Headmaster Cross told me that I was going to be shown around by either his daughter Yuki, or her partner Kiryu Zero, but he specifically stated it was highly unlikely Zero would be the one. I hastily took off my mp3 player, placing it in my bag.

"Yes!" Her smile practically blinded me. "How was your trip over here?"

"Fairly mild," I mused, shrugging, "this man on the train tried to put his hand on my butt, and I broke his wrist in two places." I smiled a bit at her expression of confusion and surprise. "Well, shall we?"

"Oh, uh, yeah! This way, please, Eri-san." I silently trailed behind the girl as she rambled on about the school's commodities, pointing to different corridors and showing me where my classes are. From what I could deduce, people were screaming – girls, obviously - as if the school was being invaded by a boy band. Yuki's expression suddenly grew very worried.

"I'm so sorry, Eri-san, I didn't even notice it was almost night time, please come with me, this will only take a minute." She lead me over to a large gate, abandoning me to the side while she pushed back hundreds of screaming girls back. My eyebrow rose slowly as the large wooden gate opened, and out strode beautiful people. My heart skipped a beat, and I began to panic. _I can't let any of them see me, oh gods, why are they here!? _Even my ex-fiancée, of all people, was walking down between that screaming line of girls, too. I ran away right then, refusing to deal with the rude awakening to my new, serene life that I absolutely adored. My clever escape was interrupted by a hard, cold surface.

"Didn't Yuki tell you to wait there?" I looked up and saw a cold face with silver hair and violet eyes glaring straight down at me, and I assumed this boy to be Kiryu Zero.

"Yes, I'm aware of that, I just couldn't hear myself think with all of that noise." I murmured, looking down to the floor.

"I deal with it, so you do you too, now come on, you've probably worried her." He roughly tugged my arm, attempting to pull me back.

"No!" I immediately ripped my arm from his grasp, my eyes unexpectedly wide. "I can't, alright? I just – just don't want to go back there!"

"What the hell's wrong with you?" I let out a sigh of relief when Yuki showed up, stepping back a bit further from Zero.

"Zero, stop scaring poor Eri-san!" Yuki scolded him like a mother, pulling me back towards the Day Class dorms, and she finally lead me to my room, which, horribly enough, was closer to the Moon Dorms than I preferred by far. As soon as Yuki left, I groaned and slumped against the wall. _A hundred years, a hundred years of never having to deal with the past such as this, and now it practically lives at my door step! I always assumed luck wasn't always at my side, but to this degree!? _I paced back forth in the dim room, damn near ripping my hair out. Through my hysteria, I realized I'd dropped my bag with _everything _inside it when I'd run away.

Cursing under my breath, I took off my shoes and slinked out of my room, being as silent as I possibly could. Surprisingly to me, I manged to tip toe my way straight down, almost home free when I saw two boys dressed in white rummaging through my bag curiously. I growled at my horrible luck tonight, rushing over, keeping my head down at all times.

"Senpai, could you please put my stuff back and give me my bag?"

"Oh, my, my, how irresponsible of you," His voice was horribly familiar. "I apologize, truly, Akatsuki and I just got so curious."

"Then do proceed to mind your own business then, Senpai, and not look through other's belongings." I kept my voice safely emotionless.

"Such a cheeky girl," he mused, "it's very rude to speak to me in such a way, don't you think? Look at me and apologize." Hanabusa hadn't changed a bit, always trying my patience with his annoying little games, sadly for me, this time I couldn't hit him upside the head.

"I have no time for this, Senpai." I said as politely as I could. "I apologize for my rudeness, but it wouldn't be a wise thing for me to get in trouble on my first day."

"Just give the girl the bag, Hanabusa." Kain finally told him with a sigh. "It'll save her and us a whole lot of trouble once you do."

"Very well," he agreed gruffly, "but first, tell me your name." That would reveal too much, I knew that before he even ended the questions.

"My apologies once again, Hanabusa-senpai, but that is indeed none of your business." I quickly snatched the bag away, and hopefully all of its contents from the start, and ran as fast as possible, ignoring the sharp _hey! _Hanabusa had shouted out. I made my way without any more interruptions, entering my room once more and sighed with acute relief and happiness, finally plopping on my bed for a well-deserved rest, and what I feared to be an increasingly unlucky day.

The next day, to my sheer joy, was quiet. I didn't have another forceful meeting with one of the night class students, and I met some new, nice people who treated me well. Though, to my utter chagrin, Satsu – the first one I became friends with – forced me to come with her to the Night Class opening again, and as much as I protested, she merely stomped her feet stubbornly and pulled me closer and closer.

"You won't regret it, I promise!" Satsu excitedly vowed. "They're all so hot, especially Aido-senpai and Shiki-senpai!" Although I begged to differ, arguing with her surely wasn't going to get me anywhere, so I just kept my head down and attempted to blend in, which, admittedly, wasn't that hard due to the fact that the screaming girls were quite distracting to the naked eye. I finally told Satsu I had homework to catch up on, and I slinked backwards desperately keeping my head down to make sure I wasn't seen, and I began to fear this would become routine. I bumped into another hard surface, and for once I silently prayed it to be Zero.

"The cheeky little girl from last night, eh?" Gah! The gods are out to get me. "How unexpected, now where are you off to in such a hurry, hm?"

"Back to my dorm, Hanabusa-senpai." I said through my teeth, hating that I had to memorize the ground. "Good day." Attempting to walk away was damn near impossible, but I felt I at least had to give it a try. Of course, his cold hand shot forward and latched on to my wrist.

"Do you have _any _manners?" He commented in a dry voice. "Now, look at me and I won't be tempted to shout out to all of those girls still outside that you're assaulting me."

"Hanabusa-senpai is this _really _necessary?" I growled, but his finger was already under my chin, forcing it up with his sheer strength, and finally, I saw his icy blue eyes again for the first time in over a hundred years.

"Tell me your name." Hanabusa demanded in a low, ferocious whisper. "_Tell _me!"

"Sa – Sasaki Eri." I couldn't control the unrelenting amount of happiness I felt to see my oldest, and dearest friend.

"That's _Hamada_ Eri, you liar." And his arms crushed me in a vice tight hug. "How are you _alive_? Kaname – Kaname-sama told me he witnessed your death! He told me you killed yourself!" I almost smiled, Kaname wasn't lying in his own little way.

"Hanabusa-senpai –"

"No! You're not allowed to call me that, you selfish, selfish girl! Call me _Hana_, like you did before." He'd gotten taller since the last time I'd seen him, and as he held me against him, my feet weren't touching the ground. "Are you aware of the anguish you put us through!?"

"I know, Hana, I –"

"No, you don't." Aido's tone grew dark. "The only ones who seemed to know anything were Kaname-sama and Shiki. Kaname-sama simply looked like he shrugged it off, but Shiki …" My heart froze, and I slowly began to feel more and more horrible, but letting it show would be against everything I'd worked for, and I sure as hell wasn't going to blow a hundred years of struggle in two days.

"I was selfish, but I just couldn't stay there."

"It wasn't as if you were going to die –"

"Enough!" The authority in my tone was given to me at birth, and I detested it. "Put me down." Hanabusa obeyed, his eyes shrouded with astonishment and confusion. "You have absolutely no idea what happened, so don't jump to conclusions! I know of my sacrifice, and the effect it was going to have on those that I loved and loved me, but the situation at hand called for it, do you understand?"

"Ye – Yes." His head lowered.

"And you will mention this meeting to _no one_. Not a soul. You thought I was dead before, and you'll think I'm dead now, okay?" He nodded slowly, and I felt like what I had escaped. Hesitantly, I placed a delicate kiss on his pale forehead and wrapped my arms around him. "I could of never asked for a better friend, Hana. Never forget how much of a place you have inside me, alright?" I ran off, hoping he'd keep his word, and at the same time slightly hoping I could catch a small glimpse of Senri again.


	2. Safari

Love Fangs

Chapter 2: Safari

By now, I was sure Kaname was fully aware of my presence here, be it he somehow read it off of Hana or he knew the moment I stepped foot through that gate. I yawned, staring out the window as the teacher rambled on about what I was taught before my fangs even came in. Another class ended, and I felt a bit sullen, my mind floating around Senri.

"Eri-chan, what's wrong?" Chiyo's face was concerned, her head slightly titled. "You've been so sad since three days ago, what happened?"

"It – It's nothing," I dismissed it casually, knowing she would never in a million years understand, "I'm just thinking, is all."

"Are you sure?" I smiled, placing my hand reassuringly on her shoulder.

"Yes, if anything was wrong, I'd tell you, Chiyo-chan." It was a pretty lie, coated in sugar and flowers. If it was any other dilemma, of course I'd tell her, but this is the opportunity cost of my own decision, and dealing with it was what I had to do, no matter what.

"Come on, Eri-chan, a look at Aido-senpai and Shiki-senpai's faces will cheer you up!" I almost laughed, biting my tongue to make sure the sarcastic fit of laughter didn't come bubbling up.

"It'd be better if I just go to my room, Chiyo-chan, I'm really tired." I attempted to walk off, but found myself being tugged away by Chiyo.

"Nonsense! Now, come on, I think they might be coming out of the dorms now!" I audibly groaned, wondering why I was allowing myself to dance so boldly in the face of my past, asking myself why I wasn't pulling away and telling this girl I wasn't feeling well, or some other typical excuse. When we got there, I could already see Yuki struggling against the wall of girls, Zero standing opposite to her side, a look of raw apathy on his face. Hana's face was just a bit troubled as he greeted his admirers, and as he passed by, I gave him as reassuring a smile as I could muster. His eyebrows scrunched together, his head slightly gesturing behind him.

My heart was running a marathon when I finally saw Senri. He'd gotten taller, just like Hana, and his flawless face hadn't changed one bit, though his hair got a little longer. I remembered touching his face, basking in his warmth, marveling in his presence. And at his side was a girl I hadn't met before the escape, and she was as beautiful as him, their expressions practically mirroring one another with boredom. I smiled a bit to myself, content he'd found someone else, at least.

When the viewing came to its conclusion, Chiyo and I were already walking back to the dorms, and I quietly listened to her speculating about the Night Class students. I soon found myself outside, staring at the Moon as I sat on the edge of a fountain, not really caring if I were to get scolded by Yuki right now.

"You'd always sit and stare at the Moon back home," his voice made my muscles freeze in place, "it's as if it held secrets only you could see."

"You asked me a long time ago what it told me," I turned and came face to face with the pureblood king himself, Kaname Kuran, "and I never gave you a straight answer, did I?"

"The way I remember it, you told me there's some things I just can't figure out."

"Yes, and I wasn't wrong, was I?" I was always proud in the fact I could make him chuckle, aside from anyone else.

"Have you enjoyed life as a human, then?" Kaname's face was always damn near impossible to read, I couldn't tell if he was mocking me, curious, or a combination of the two.

"Yes, actually. Freedom is the sweetest thing I've tasted in a long time, and I wouldn't trade it for anything."

"Oh?" He looked at me skeptically. "Well, I'm glad you've found happiness with your decision. Although, don't you think it was a bit inconsiderate not to at least write him, and tell him how you were doing the first few years?"

"You know why I couldn't, Kaname." I said it through my teeth. "So please don't taunt me about that, it already stings as it is."

"Ah, you're right." We stood silent for a bit. "That girl's name is Rima Touya."

"You saw me staring at her, right?" I laughed quietly. "You must think I'm a fool, Kaname."

"Yes, I do," he smiled a bit, "but you're the type not to let anyone govern your decisions, now matter how impulsive and rash. And although I think you could've handled it far differently, I can see how much happier you are with this new life." He stepped forward, lifting my chin with his slender index finger. "I remember parts of the deal of that mixture you took, it erases all the positive memories of your life, and you have to live with yourself, and the plague you were trying to escape from for the rest of eternity as a human. So, I've decided, to remind me you of when we met."

_Third Person for flashbacks – _

–

_Kuran Kaname was eight years old, and friendless. Hanabusa Aido had refused to be his friend when he asked, and the little pureblood never really understood why. Either way, his mother and father were taking him to a different family, the Hamada clan, and Kaname recalled his father saying something about wanting to mend relations and securing a friendship between pureblood families. When they got there, little Kaname expected nothing out of the ordinary, just a small tour of the house and him sitting in whatever room he was told to wait in until his parents finished talking grown up issues. He entered the large mansion, and felt the presence of a child almost immediately._

_"Welcome, Juuri-san, Haruka-san," a tall, beautiful woman with the same aura as his mother said gently, "Taro and I are so happy you both could come."_

_"The pleasure is ours, Miyako-san." Hamada Miyako examined the small boy behind his mother slowly, a smile inching across her lips. _

_"Kaname-kun, my little Eri is outside playing in the garden, you can go outside and join her if you like." Kaname nodded, though he half-expected the same reaction from the Aido household to occur here, too, but part of him hoped it was different, because her blood was like his. He found a little girl digging outside and staring at the Moon, humming to herself. _

_"Who're you?" Little Kaname blinked twice, and realized a little girl with big brown eyes and very dark brown hair was on her feet and staring straight at him._

_"I'm – I'm Kuran Kaname," he said slowly, "I'm sorry if I interrupted, I just wanted to see." He started to turn around and walk away, but a large wall of plants suddenly blocked his path._

_"Where are you going, Kana-chan? I need a partner for my expedition!" _

_"Ex – expedition?" She – she wanted him to play with her? She threw him a hat commonly worn on African safaris, her hands then placed themselves firmly on her little hips. _

_"Of course! We're looking for the rare bunny of the Galapagos!" Eri was already running down the garden into the small shroud of forest. Kaname was so confused, he didn't move. "Well? Are you coming, or not?" _

_"Uh, ah, yeah!" The confused pureblood slowly put on his hat, following the loud girl he hoped had become his first friend. The forest was so filled with plant life, he almost believed he'd gotten lost before a small hand shot out of the bushes and grabbed a hold of his wrist._

_"Shh! These things are vicious, you know?" She spoke as if they were hunting a rabid tiger. "One wrong step, and POOF! your feet are gone, and in their bellies, shoes and all!"_

_"Really?" He whispered back curiously._

_"Uh huh! It almost happened to me twice!" Eri handed him a bug net, slowly stepping forward, and plants bent backward, making them both a path. "Don't worry, Kana-chan, I'll protect you and your feet." Kaname's cheeks were red with joy, he'd never been this happy for being accepted by someone so easily. So, the entire time, he followed her lead and did exactly as she said._

_"There it is!" She frantically pointed to a wild rabbit on the ground, and Kaname sound found himself chasing after it with the bug net, only to get caught on a protruding root and fall to the ground, flat on his face. Eri burst out into a fit of giggles from what he could hear, extending her small hand out to him. He took it, and when he got off, his nose was licked. _

_"Caught him!" She sang happily, putting the small baby rabbit down and watching him hop back into the forest._

_"Why did you let him go? You said he was vicious!"_

_"But he was a baby, he'd only ever nibble our feet off!" Both pureblood children broke out into laughter, and it was the first time Kaname had laughed as hard as this for as long as he could remember. Eri brushed off Kaname's jacket and extended her hand in a business-like manner._

_"Kuran Kana-chan, I've officially decided you're going to be my new best friend and partner. Do you accept?" Kaname's eyes widened in surprise at her boldness._

_"Really? Do you mean that, Eri-chan?"_

_"Of course, I never don't mean anything once it's said!" Kaname slowly returned her handshake, slightly squeezing her small hand._

–

I was astounded at the kind of child I used to be, and I couldn't help but smile at how I pushed around Kaname.

"You were the only one I'd ever met that was like that," remarked Kaname, "and I loved every minute of our time together, I felt like a normal child with you." I blinked, and realized Kaname was showing me something else.

–

_It'd been two months since Kaname had last seen his best friend, and he was anxiously fidgeting in his seat in the car on his way to her house. What was she doing? Did she make a new best friend and forget all about him? No, Eri wouldn't do that. Would she? _

_"What if Eri-chan forgot about me, okaa-san?" he murmured a bit frantically. "She probably thinks I forget about her after all this time, too!"_

_"Calm down, silly Kaname." Juuri soothed him maternally, stroking the back of his head. "I'm sure Eri hasn't forgotten about you, now hush and stop moving around so much, she's probably waiting for you right now." His mother was right, when Kaname got out of the car, he saw a small figure up on the roof, and a woman with sharp glasses horrified with worry at the nearest balcony._

_"Eri – Eri-sama! Get down from there, you'll hurt yourself!"_

_"Hush up, Keiko-tan, I'm waiting for Kana-chan!" Their eyes both met at the exact same time, and she rejoiced gleefully. "Kana-chan! You're late, late, late!" The pureblood child gracefully lept off of the at least three stories high, and Kaname froze, frightened out of his mind, but almost heard the entire house sigh when she landed on her feet, wobbling unsteadily like a kitten, but still nothing injuring. _

_"Are you insane?" he asked, and for her reply, the little girl squealed and wrapped her small arms around him. _

_"I missed you, Kana-chan!" His mood immediately cleared up, and he became quite elated, eagerly hugging the girl back. Before he could return the gesture, she was already towing him towards the garden. Juuri and Haruka laughed in unison, waving goodbye to their son. _

_"I planted a new seed out back," she informed him, "I don't know what it is yet, and I've been saving it for your visit."_

_"Well, let's go!" They began running a bit far off, Eri mentioning she planted it there so it'd grow faster, and better quality to the soil texture._

_"Kaname-sama!" One of his guards stopped both of them, appearing out of nowhere. "I'm sorry, but you can't go that far, please turn around and go back to the mansion."_

_"Hey, move out of our way! I need to show Kana-chan something!"_

_"My apologies, Eri-sama, but it's too dangerous out there for the both of you." Eri rolled her eyes, a large vine shooting out from the ground, wrapping the astonished guard in an unbreakable wrap._

_"Come on, Kana-chan!" Kaname blinked twice, remembering that his friend was extremely bold, shrugged to himself and quickly trailed behind her. Eri excitedly told Kaname to grab her the little shovel, and she began digging with her hands. As Kaname got up, he noticed a silver, metal object silently pointing at her head. He had to act quick._

_"Eri-chan, look out!" Kaname pounced, tackling Eri away just before the shot was fired. He glared fiercely at the figure._

_"Who are you and what do you want?"_

_"Don't bare your non-existant fangs at me, pureblood brat," snarled the person, "I'm here to either kill or take your little girlfriend, although I prefered the first." Kaname hissed at the man with the smell of a hunter. _

_"A brat who doesn't know how to use his powers shouldn't be so arrogant," sneered the hunter, "step aside or I'll just kill you both." Eri stood up, ignoring the warning whispers Kaname kept hissing at her, daringly stepping forward. _

_"Okay, I'll go with you, but first I want to tell you something," she beckoned him forward with her index finger, and as he lowered his head to her level, her fists slammed simultaneously into his eyes, "never underestimate a pureblood, stupid!" She quickly grabbed Kaname's hand, both running as fast as their little feet could carry them as they avoided blind gun shots and extremely loud curses. _

_"That was really brave, yet stupid, what you did back there." Kaname commented while they ran._

_"Yes, but it saved our butts, didn't it?" The little purebloods laughed together, when they finally got back to Eri's mansion where both ran into the worried arms of their parents._

–

I started laughing harder and harder at this, gasping for breath.

"Did I really do that, Kaname?"

"Yes, you did, and it was the most foolish thing I've ever seen, but it, quote, 'saved our butts' anyway." I was smiling from ear to ear, and finally stood up.

"Thank you, Kaname, you really made my day."

"My pleasure. I'd suggest leave, because Yuki is going to come this way in about five minutes." I laughed again, walking away, beginning to recall on how much of a friendship Kaname had back when we were small and fangless.

**A/N: I needed a cutesy, childhood moment. XD I was re-reading some VK chapters when Aido told Kaname he wouldn't be his friend, and I'm like 'Aww' D: so I gave him one at that age, yay! 8D! There will be more flashbacks in the future, but maybe some not quite as friendly and nice as these ones. Stay linked for the next chapterr~**


	3. Hide and Please Don't Seek

Love Fangs

Chapter 3: Hide-and-Please-Don't-Seek

Kaname's reminders of what once was put me in a good mood that lasted well into three or four days, and I began to recall bit by bit what happened, though it was painful to do so. Slowly, I began fingering the locket Senri gave me, almost tempted to open it. I'd promised myself I wouldn't the day I ran away, in fear or re-opening old wounds, because the melody would remind me far too much of everything I'd left behind.

"Eri-chan, that's so pretty! Where'd you get it?" Chiyo asked gleefully.

"It was a gift from someone." She asked me if she could wear it for just a second, and I obliged hesitantly, and much to my dismay she went around the class when the teacher wasn't looking, showing the other girls the structure, and gushing over the small sapphire in the center. I sighed, letting my mind wander off. Before I knew it, class was over, and I gave Chiyo a stern look, reminding her I wasn't going to come with her to see the Night Class this time. As we were walking, I'd realized what I forgot.

"Chiyo-chan, where's my locket?"

"Oh! I'm sorry," her hands fumbled on her neck, "I – I took it off in class, and I left it on someone's desk, though I don't remember who's." I groaned, dashing back to the class. Desk by desk, I searched around for that little trinket, almost frantically. When I finally found it, I heard footsteps and unpleasantly familiar voices. In my panic, I did the stupidest thing possible, hid under my desk, scrunching up into the fetal position. Escape was impossible now, because the Night Class was filing in, taking their seats. A mental freak out was all I could muster at the moment, and to make it better, someone sat at my seat, his shoes just centimeters from kicking my stomach.

"Who the hell does that Kiryu think he is?" demanded Hana, mostly to himself. "Treating Kaname-sama so disrespectfully, killing him five times wouldn't satisfy me in the least."

"I know, Aido, but there's not much you can do about it." Ichijo. A gentle voice I hadn't heard in a long time.

"You're always complaining about Kiryu Zero," his voice was too close, which made my heart speed up, and my cheeks burn, "it actually gets kind of annoying after a while, Aido-san."

"Shut up, Shiki! You don't understand how annoying he is!"

"Oh, of course not." He retorted, emotionless and incredibly sarcastic. This position was getting increasingly uncomfortable, and I'd have to be like this until dawn. Perfect. Hana was on his feet ranting, when he was high enough in the room to see me. I gave him as frantic of a look as I could, mouthing the word _help!_ with wide eyes. He nodded slowly, biting his lip in thought.

"Uh, hey! Everyone, come to the window, I think I saw something moving around, and it doesn't look like a day class student." Everyone didn't budge, telling him it was imagination, but thank goodness Hana was a stubborn person who wouldn't shut up until you did what he asked. Finally, the class groaned and filed to the window, asking Aido what exactly he was talking about. I took my chance, and tip toed as silently as possible to the exit. I sighed with relief when I got there, and suddenly realized that was a wrong idea, because Senri was staring straight at me. My cheeks turned red, and I ran as fast as I possibly could, until I was far enough and was gasping for breath.

"Eri-san! What are you doing out past curfew?" Yuki ran forward, and I cursed under my breath.

"Er, it's a long story, but trust that I didn't intend to." Before she could sufficiently ask me what happened, I was already running to my room.

- - – – - - - - -

I couldn't get much sleep last night, my head was plagued too much with the past to really try. So, I decided to skip a bit of class and just think things through. I found myself wandering out to the small crop of forest by the school. A large sakura tree I saw seemed like the perfect place.

First of all, why did I keep going near them, when I'm trying to uphold and keep my human life?

Did my subconscious mind really want to see them, rather, Senri? After what I did? It's highly likely he'd much rather stick with the life he has now, and if my presence was going to interfere with his happiness, then I'd much rather disappear again and never come back here. I attempted and attempted to think about how I'm specifically going to handle this, but soon I just slumped against the trunk of the tree and preached to myself it was hopeless. Slowly, I opened Senri's locket, and the melody gently rang out. Both the song and the nulling smell of cherry blossoms slowly coaxed me to sleep.

After what felt like an hour, I heard footsteps coming my way and a small barrier of consciousness was broken, though I paid it no mind, assuming it was either Zero (in which case, I was in trouble for skipping) or just some stray Day Class student who's skipping just like me.

"Eri, you're so stupid." I felt like I was dreaming, Senri's voice rang so clearly in my ears. A hand lifted a strand of my hair, sighing. "I can't believe you've kept that necklace all this time, even after you told me you were letting go of everything in that note." Warm hands stroked my face, and I realized this was absolutely no dream. Senri's hand clenched into a fist.

"And to think I promised myself I'd forget about you." His fingers trailed down to my neck. "I told myself it was a mistake getting involved with a pureblood, and I should've known from the beginning it'd end badly," he slightly laughed to himself, "and yet, whenever I think back, I don't have any regrets, no matter how hard I try."

"I don't, either." I whispered, slowly opening my eyes to his face. "Senri, _you _were the biggest regret for leaving that life, and still today, I –" my teeth slightly clenched together, " - feel like a selfish, selfish monster for doing what I did to you." I stood to my feet. "I'm sorry for reminding you of that incident, Senri, I'll – I'll make sure you don't hear from me again." Before I could run, his hand grabbed a hold of my ankle.

"Hey, I never said you can just up and leave again." He closed his eyes, his lips trailing a bit over my wrist. "Stay here." As I sat down, his head immediately laid down in my lap. I blushed furiously.

"Um, what are you doing?"

"I'm tired," he whined, "and your thighs have always been so soft." He yawned, stretching out and making himself comfortable, and I couldn't help but smile just a bit at how much of a big, lazy cat he's always been. I never understood this man's thinking, either. I leave him for next to a century and yet he doesn't despise me in the least. My fingers played a little in his silky hair, and the texture brought back many pleasant memories. Soon enough, I leaned against the trunk of the big cherry blossom tree, and drifted back into unconsciousness.

–

By the time I managed to wake up, I wasn't against a cherry blossom tree anymore. I was on a big, soft bed from what I could feel from my back, and within a big, elegant room. I rubbed my eyes groggily, disorientated and extremely confused. All I knew was that I was all alone in this room, and Yuki was most likely looking for me. Groaning to myself, I wandered over to the big wooden doors and attempted to pull them open. _Ka-chink_. I realized then I was locked in like an animal. Had Senri locked me in here? Why in the world would he?

Wonderful, just wonderful.

I ran to the nearby window, wondering if a fall from that height would kill me. Yes, it would, and it was only early nighttime, so no one was going to get me out of here until dawn. I really hated this feeling, and Senri knew it. I banged my fists against the door.

"Is anyone out there?" I shouted. "Please help me, I'm locked in here with no way out!"

"My apologies, Eri-sama," a woman with a bright, high-pitched voice called back, "but Shiki-sama specifically told me not to let you out until he arrived."

"You're not honestly going to oblige to this, are you? Even if you do work for them, I'm a Day Class student! One of the prefects is probably looking for me right now!"

"A report has already been filed for your temporary leave of class due to illness," she explained in a sing-song voice, "and even if I wanted to open the door, I couldn't. Shiki-sama has the only copy of the key to this room."

"Then what's the point of telling you if you couldn't do anything in the first place!?"

"I believe it's in case you fond a way out, which he assumed you might, so he took extra precautions." I couldn't believe Senri had me sufficiently trapped like this, and for what? I sighed, crawling on the comforter and trying to coax myself back to sleep. I opened the locket again, knowing the melody had a strange way to put me to sleep. Soon enough, I curled into a little ball and slipped into unconsciousness again.

I was woken up by the sound of whispers.

"You're an idiot, you know that, Shiki?" hissed Hana's voice. "Kaname-sama won't approve of you holding Eri hostage like this!"

"Dorm Leader Kuran knows she's here." Senri said, his fingers closing my locket. "He told me not to do anything foolish, and that this won't keep her here for very long."

"Looks like you've disobeyed him already," Hana snorted, "Shiki, why are you doing this? She's already immensely guilty about before, how far do you intend to push that poor girl's emotions?"

"It's not about that," he retorted in his usual tone, "I have my own reasons for keeping her here. Aido-san, it'd be best if you leave already, or you'll wake her up." Hana was grumbling to himself, but the footsteps trailed out of the room and the door shut behind it.

"Too late for that." I murmured, rolling on my back and staring at the ceiling. It was silent for a little while until I finally looked at him. "Why are you keeping me here, exactly?" He shrugged.

"Because, I don't feel like letting you leave right now." He sat on the edge of the bed. "I just want to remind myself of your scent, it almost disappeared from my memory before you showed up here." Something felt wrong here.

"Senri, what do you really want?"

"I don't know," he whispered honestly, "I just don't want you to leave. The thought of you getting up and walking away got me annoyed, okay?"

"What about Rima?"

"What about her?"

"Won't she get annoyed I'm in here?"

"Why would she?"

"Aren't you two together?" Senri's cheeks turned a bit pink, but he shook his head silently, staring intently at me.

"Senri, when exactly are you going to let me leave?"

"When I feel like it." I blinked, wondering how long he was going to keep this up, and wondering if either Chiyo or Yuki would come to check on me during my alleged 'illness'.

–

**A/N: Shiki's personality is hard to maintain because Hino-sensei doesn't really dwell on either him or Rima a lot. Dx And I have absolutely no idea what he's like to a love interest, since him and Rima never really confessed to each other, either! (Yet! I'm hoping for **_**something **_**in the newer chapters …) Either way, if I accidentally make him OOC (Out Of Character), you know why, and I'm sorry if I do. XD;;; **

**Stay linked for the next chapter~!**


	4. Confusion and Warmth

**A/N: Quickly: from now I feel more comfortable in third person, even though I love first person, it's just there's more of a wide range of actions and I don't have to dwell on Eri's thoughts all the time. X-x;; *Ends it here, in fear of rambling off* On with the fic!**

Love Fangs

Chapter 4: Confusion and Warmth

Senri had her sufficiently confined to his room, and her patience was wearing extremely thin after about twenty four hours. Eri didn't understand he wanted at all, and he hadn't been talking much, which made it even more pointless to her.

"Senri, I'm fed up with this." She snapped as he walked in. "This is pointless, you know that?" She angrily marched over to the door. "You're keeping me here for no good reason, and I'm going to leave until you tell me what you –" Eri was silenced as Senri was suddenly on his knees, his arms wrapped tightly around her, and his face was buried in her chest.

"Please, Eri," it was a near silent whisper, "letting you disappear again is something I can't handle."

"Why are you letting me off so easy?" she demanded about as silent as he did. "After everything I've done to you, why don't you feel disgusted in my presence!?"

"I can't." Senri growled. "When you came to this school, I could feel your presence,and I had no idea what I wanted to do. You – you're the only one that can_ do _this to me; tear me apart at the seams, and yet manage to sew me back together with just a smile."

"Senri." She held the vampire close, knowing that saying anything would ruin a moment like this, and Eri couldn't but feel almost endlessly euphoric at his warmth. Her knees gave out, and his arms tightened even further. Being so close to him sent a feeling of wonderful nostalgia throughout her body, and she honestly wished to be able to stay like this forever. He lifted his head suddenly, light, beautiful blue piercing straight into her brown eyes. With shaking hands, she slowly reached out and cupped his face, he in turn leaning into her touch without hesitation, welcoming anything coming from her.

"I'm far more selfish than you can imagine, Eri." His mouth was on her immediately, his left hand grabbing a fistful of her hair. Eri could feel such sudden electrical sparks, she might have gasped right there on the spot, but she wouldn't allow the chance to _taste _him after so long slip between her fingers. The human completely surrendered to his touch, her entire world melting around them. His hands feverishly wandered everywhere, practically setting her skin on fire.

"Se – Senri," she gasped, almost forgetting what she was about to say, "n – now isn't a good time." He lifted his head, the expressionless look on his face that escalated her heart rate ten fold. Though, slowly, his eyes seemed to understand she was right, and he softly caressed her cheek, nodding in agreement.

"I'll save this for when the time's right." He said with his usual tone and expression, and she cracked a smile. Eri finally told him that class was inevitable, and he grudgingly agreed, making her promise she was going to sneak away to see him whenever she could, and if she didn't show up for too long, he'd come to her room and steal her away in the night. Eri laughed, kissing him on the forehead and finally leaving his room as silently as she'd guessed to have entered. On her way out, Kaname passed her by and sent her a small smile and a nod, as if to say _congratulations, he loves you enough to disregard your idiocy_.

When she was almost there, she looked up to see Rima sitting on the tree branch just above her head. Her eyes widened.

"Hey, you're Eri, right?"

"Yes, Toya-senpai. What is it?" The vampire woman jumped down in front of Eri, her expression almost mirroring Senri's as it usually did, but this time she could detect something off.

"You're the pureblood whom Shiki fell in love with a hundred years ago, right?" Eri slightly blushed at this, realizing that Rima seemed like Senri's confidant, of sorts.

"I'm not a pureblood anymore." Eri murmured in reply.

"Yes, I know the story," Rima said a bit hostilely, "your entire clan was killed, you lost everything, you were weak and couldn't handle it and turned yourself into a human with some type of potion, letting everyone believe you'd killed yourself, the only ones knowing anything were Shiki and Kaname-sama, and you left Shiki a note explaining everything."

"Ah, so Senri told you."

"Don't talk about him so casually!" She snapped suddenly. "When you came to this school, he changed. He was constantly looking around, didn't even want to talk to _me_, and sometimes even going out and walking around, like he lost something precious. And then, he came back with _you_ unconscious in his arms." Her small hand balled up in to a fist. "You have no idea what it was like, seeing his face when he told me it was Eri, I'd never seen him so … so _happy_."

"I –"

"No! Your presence here will only hurt him again!" Rima stepped forward, grabbing the scruff of Eri's collar, her vampire strength easily lifting her off the ground. "When you left, it was as if I didn't know him anymore. He never left his room, he didn't eat, he didn't drink blood much at all, and he barely slept right. _You _destroyed him with your pathetic weakness, and now you think you can easily come back into his life, after what you did? No way in hell am I allowing that!"

"I don't know what he's thinking either," Eri explained slowly, "but I didn't ask for this. I was _trying_ to avoid a confrontation with him!"

"Well you apparently aren't even good at staying away, are you?" Rima threw her against a stone wall, it just barely missing a blow to her head as she impacted. Eri groaned very slightly. "Stay away from Shiki, or so help me I'll make you wish you never laid eyes on him!"

"I can't leave again," Eri hissed through her teeth, biting back another groan, "I owe him that much. As long as he wants me around, I will be." Eri could see electrical sparks flying from the palm of Rima's hand, the small vampire's teeth grinding together.

"You just don't understand, do you?" growled Rima. "You'll only end up leaving him again! Eventually, your presence will be figured out, and you'll be hunted. And then what will you do? Apologize and leave, proving yourself to be a far better human than vampire?" Eri felt volts of electricity shooting through her body, and tried as hard as she could not to scream.

"I made a mistake!" Eri snapped at her. "I'm not stupid enough to make it again!"

"You liar!" Another shock. Higher volts. Through the immense pain, Eri could see the hysteria in Rima's posture and the tears in her eyes. "He – he never stopped loving you, as much as he wanted to hate you, he loved you, with every fiber of his being. And what do I get? I've been there for him for over a century, and never betrayed him and was always a good friend, and he still chooses _you_, the one who left him without a second thought and probably never even loved him!" That did it. Eri struggled to stand to her feet.

"You portray me as a fiend," said Eri, "and the way I dealt with the situation was foolish, and I regret it with all my heart, but you have absolutely no right to say I didn't have second thoughts. Senri was the color to my dull, fake life, he meant _everything_ to me! But I had a decision to make. Either emotionally rot for the rest of my endless life, in the end worrying him even more, or leave, giving myself a second chance and him, a second chance at life without the restraints of being tied to the pureblood I was!" Rima tried to speak again, and Eri immediately stopped her.

"And don't you _ever_ assume I didn't love him, because you have no idea! But you obviously don't love Senri as much as I thought you did if you're willing to put your selfish beliefs before his happiness!"

"Shut up, you self-righteous human! You have no idea what you're even saying!" The voltage from the shocks shot up, damn near paralyzing her. Rima grabbed Eri, throwing her against a tree, the force denting the trunk. From then on, Eri blacked out, and Rima stood over her ready to deliver the final blow.

"Enough, Rima." Rima jumped back at the sound of Kaname's voice, suddenly realizing in her rage she was about to kill Eri entirely. Kain appeared behind her, securing her arms. "Kain, take her back to the dorms and don't let her leave her room, I'll speak to her about the punishment for this when I'm done here." Kain obeyed his lord without a second glance. Kaname crouched down, effortlessly lifting his childhood friend, carrying her to Ichijo, who'll take far better care of her than he could.

"Kaname-sama!" Hanabusa appeared, his nostrils flaring with concern and worry. "Is – is she going to survive?"

"Humans have always been so fragile," Kaname said, "but Eri is more resilient than most, so I believe she'll pull through alive, at least." Hanabusa breathed a sigh of relief, trailing behind his lord.

–

Senri came out of his room when he could feel Eri's presence, his eyes widening incredulously at the sight he saw when he got downstairs.

"What happened?" He demanded as Kaname handed the beaten and bruised Eri to Takuma, his tone wavering between his usual impassive nature and a new, raw anger. Kaname glanced at him, and Senri could feel the dark aura coming off of him.

"Neither I nor Ichijo are at liberty to tell you what happened," Kaname placed a hard hand on his shoulder, "but you should _really_ learn to protect those you love and know exactly when there's a potential threat to her health, or the consequence could be deadly." The pureblood easily made his way upstairs, and Senri's teeth ground together.

"I'm sorry, Shiki, but Kaname told me no one's allowed with me when I'm figuring out what's wrong." Senri growled under his breath, but listened to Takuma, at least trusting her health with him.

Takuma was extremely surprised at what he'd found when he examined everything. Her ribs were cracked, her left arm broken, and her skin was covered in bruises. He also found quite a bit of electricity in her body, and it got more and more difficult to remove it without disturbing her vital organs.

"Ah, hell hath no fury than a woman scorned." Takuma observed to himself, immediately understanding what happened, and sighed.

Finally, he'd managed to fix what he could and remove the electricity and lightning, bandaging up the rest, though she was still in a comatose state.

"Shiki, you can come inside now." Takuma had felt that boy's presence just outside the door the entire time, and he knew that he had no right to tell Senri what'd happened to her. That was either her job, or Rima's. Senri slowly made his way inside, his eyes never leaving Eri, and he felt horrible at the sight of her in such a state.

"Is she okay?"

"I did what I could," Takuma explained gently, "her ribs are cracked, her arm is broken, but she's alive. I still haven't gotten her to wake up, though."

"Ichijo-san, do you know what happened?"

"No," Takuma lied quietly, "Kaname seems to be the only one that knows." With that, Takuma silently exited the room. Senri's hand closed into a fist as he slid beside her sleeping figure. He felt so weak, which made him angrier than he already was. Slowly, Senri laid his head down on her chest, sighing to himself, relieved that her heart was at least still beating.

–

**A/N: This got delayed just a bit, but, nonetheless it's here! *Sucker for fluff* It's quite sad, really. D; And even though Rima is about as impassive as Shiki, in both the anime and manga she got really emotional when Shiki was being taken over by Rido, and I can picture her getting annoyed from this display of events. Reviews loved, criticism coveted, flames abhorred.**


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